You’re on an outback adventure and you need the best of the best when it comes to camping. Well make sure you put two mile camp on your list!

The banks of the Finke River is one of the best places to camp in the MacDonnell Ranges. The 2 mile camping spot located at Glen Helen, 140km west of Alice Springs is a 4wd based camping spot right on the Finke.

This camping spot is ideally placed if you want to base yourself in the heart of the West MacDonnell Ranges and it makes for easy travelling to all the popular attractions like Redbank Gorge, the Ochre Pits and Ormiston Gorge.

But this is a basic camping area.  There are no facilities of any kind and the road into the camping area is all sand and very soft.  It is best suited to high clearance 4wd vehicles, especially if you are towing a trailer or camper, however soft roaders should make it in with care.

Getting In: The entry to the camping area is easily missed and does change after the river has flooded, however in most cases you will find the entry on the right, approximately 200 metres past the Glen Helen Resort turnoff, just before the river crossing on the tarmac road when heading west from Alice Springs.

There are other places to set up camp in the West MacDonnell’s, however none stack up to the beauty and tranquillity of the 2 mile camp.  Most of the other camping areas have facilities and are limited in size with allocated spots.  The spots are also quite small and close to other campers.  Not so at the 2 mile camping ground.  There is plenty of space to spread out and with any luck, you’ll be lucky to see any other campers.

The Glen Helen resort is a mere 5 minute drive away from the camp spot, which makes getting fuel and basic supplies really simple.  There is also a pub and restaurant within the resort.  And as a backdrop to the resort is the Glen Helen Gorge, which is a spectacular formation where the Finke River passes through the centre of the MacDonnell Ranges.

All in all, this is one of the best places I have ever camped.  Highly recommended, but remember, there are no facilities so you will need to come prepared. The video above gives a great overview of the Glen Helen area and features the 2 mile camping area.